Abstract
Early on the afternoon of February 14th, 2015, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) switched off analogue transmissions for four of the nation’s leading television stations: Citizen TV, Kenya Television Network (KTN), Nation Television (NTV) and QTV. On a day several Kenyans were celebrating Valentine’s Day, those watching television suddenly saw screen scrolls which revealed that the regulator was interfering with regular programming. Although the stations were expected to continue transmission on other signal distribution platforms, they withdrew their content, citing copyright infringement, editorial independence, the need to fully prepare for digital migration, and protection of their investments, conservatively estimated to be worth Kshs. 40 billion (Business Today, 2015) (Fig. 27.1).
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Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank Agnes Lando, Katrin Nyman-Metcalf, Victor Bwire, Timothy Gimode, John Mwangi, Dixon Andiwa, Norman Cheruiyot, Daisy Kilel and Abigael Sawenja for their insights and suggestions.
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Further research needs to be undertaken on why no cartoon in either paper addressed digital migration after February the 25th, yet the days following marked some of the most dramatic moments in the debate. Further examination of governmental discourses around digital migration might also be necessary.
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Masai, J. (2017). 19 Days in 2015: An Analysis of the Framing of the Digital Migration Debate by Cartoonists in Selected Kenyan Newspapers. In: Friedrichsen, M., Kamalipour, Y. (eds) Digital Transformation in Journalism and News Media. Media Business and Innovation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27786-8_27
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